Multiple-layer curtain

ABSTRACT

A shower curtain comprises multiple layers of waterproof material, heat-sealed above a perforated line. This allows layers to be easily removed one at a time, by tearing away individual layers along a perforated line, in order to expose a new, clean layer.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

None

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

This invention was not federally sponsored.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the general field of furniture, and more specifically to the specific field of room dividers such as shower curtains and dividing curtains used in hospitals.

Brief Description of Invention

A shower curtain consisting of multiple layers of waterproof material, whose layers are easily removed one at a time, by tearing away individual layers along a perforated line, in order to expose a new clean layer. The shower curtain or divider curtain can be attached by the top portion of the curtain using the holes at the top. The curtain can be used to divide a room or contain water in a showering area. When the curtain gets dirty, a layer can be removed by pulling the tab of an outside layer and continuing to pull as the material tears away along a perforated line near the top of the curtain but below the holes used for attachment.

Statement of the Problem. Curtains have been used for years to separate rooms into various sections. Two common examples of this are shower curtains, that separate a bathtub or shower area from the rest of the bathroom, and room dividers in hospitals. A problem occurs when the curtain becomes dirty and needs to be replaced. With the current state of the art, a user has to take down the curtain and put up a new one. This can be difficult, as some curtains in hospital environments are above the reach of an average-sized person and require a ladder, and annoying, as in the case of a homeowner who wants to replace a dirty shower curtain by has to wait until he/she buys a new one.

The current invention provides just such a solution by having a curtain that is comprised of multiple layers of sheets. The perforations at the top of the sheet allow a user to merely rip off the outermost sheet, upon which there will be a clean sheet that is now exposed. This allows a single curtain to be used multiple times before it has to be replaced.

STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION

The curtain has several identical sheets of preferably waterproof material that are heat-sealed one on top of the next. Below the heat seal is a line of perforations, such that an outer sheet, when it becomes dirty, can be torn off, revealing a new, clean sheet beneath it. Above the heat-seal, holes are punched into the sheets, such that the invention can be hung from a series of hooks such as those used over a shower curtain rod or along a track in a hospital used to partition a room.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. The features listed herein and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

It should be understood the while the preferred embodiments of the invention are described in some detail herein, the present disclosure is made by way of example only and that variations and changes thereto are possible without departing from the subject matter coming within the scope of the following claims, and a reasonable equivalency thereof, which claims I regard as my invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

One preferred form of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shower curtain of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view and close view of the top left corner of a shower curtain of the present invention, showing a small drawing of the invention and a close up drawing of an area of the invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a shower curtain of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of shower curtain, hung on a rod in a shower area consisting of a tub and shower head.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Many aspects of the invention can be better understood with references made to the drawings below. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. Instead, emphasis is placed upon clearly illustrating the components of the present invention. Moreover, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts through the several views in the drawings. Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention are not limited in their application to the details of construction and to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The embodiments of the invention are capable of being practiced and carried out in various ways. In addition, the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

Referring now to the invention in more detail, in FIG. 1 there is shown a shower curtain 1 having a way to attach to a rod 5. The shower curtain 1 consists of multiple layers of plastic 4 or similar waterproof material. The layers are attached to a main layer 2 and tear along a perforated or thin line 6. The shower curtain 1 has many layers 4 that are kept together with static bonding as well as laser fusion, a common process in plastics. The process is not the focus of the patent and can be found as a readily available process, easily explained and defined by a layman in the shower curtain industry.

In more detail, still referring to the invention of FIG. 1 The shower curtain 1 has top 2 that consists of all layers of material 4 where the top 2 has had the multiple layers 4 fused together to form a strong un-separable top 2. The top 2 of the shower curtain 1 is attached to a shower rod with common readily available parts that are fastened to the shower curtain 1 through the provided holes 5. The curtain will get dirty after repeated use and require the user to remove a layer 4 of the shower curtain 1 to expose a clean layer. To remove a layer 3 from the shower curtain 1, one would pull from a tab 4 of one of the layers 3. When a selected tab 4 is pulled away from the top 2, the top 2 and the layer to be removed 3 will separate at the perforated line 6.

Referring now to the invention in more detail, in FIG. 2 the shower curtain 7 at the top of the pager is circled 8, the area inside the circle 8 is shown as a magnified view of the shower curtain 9. The magnified view of the shower curtain 9, shows a layer being removed 12 form the top 14 of the shower curtain 9.

In more detail, still referring to the invention, in FIG. 2 the magnified view of the shower curtain 9, is being peeled away from the remaining layers 15 that are attached to the top 14 of the shower curtain 9. The layer being peeled away 12 from the top 14 is being separated along a perforated line 13. When separated along the line 13, the layers bottom portion 11, which is the majority of a sheet of waterproof material, will be torn away and discarded. The remaining material forms the top 14 of the shower curtain 9, where the top 9 of the shower curtain 9 is a representation of all the layers of waterproof material fused held together in a way to prevent water or air from coming between the layers during typical use as a shower curtain. The shower curtain 9 can consist of any combination of two or more layers 15 of waterproof material

Referring now to the invention in more detail, in FIG. 3 the shower curtain 16 is shown in a disassembled perspective view. The shower curtain 16 has a top 19 that is attached to larger lower parts 17,20 along a line of small perforations 18. The combination of the lower parts, two or more waterproof sheets, 17,20 remains intact at the top 19 of the shower curtain when removed 17 from the assembly.

In more detail, still referring to the invention, in FIG. 3, the shower curtain 16 is kept clean by removing layers of waterproof material 20,17 as needed. To remove the sheets of material one would pull at a tab 21 on the outermost layer. When pulling on the tab 21 the lower sheet 20 will tear away from the top 19 along the seam 18.

Referring now to the invention in more detail, in FIG. 4 the shower curtain 22 is shown in a typical environment for use, consisting of a water source 23 and a receptacle for that water source 26. The shower curtain 22 is attached to a rod 24 with loops 25 that pass through the shower curtain 22. The loops 25 pass through the top 27 of the shower curtain 22.

Advantages

The advantages of the present invention include, without limitation, easily keeping the shower curtain clean by removing layers of material as needed while not having to replace the entire curtain. This layering system makes shower cleanup easier, because one would not have to completely replace a shower curtain as often as well as removing the need to clean the shower curtain, which can be extremely difficult.

The advantages of the present invention also include uses outside of showering areas such as hospital room divider curtains and any area that requires a curtain either to contain water and or other fluids and particles.

While the foregoing written description of the invention enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein. The invention should therefore not be limited by the above described embodiment, method, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the invention.

It should be understood that while the preferred embodiments of the invention are described in some detail herein, the present disclosure is made by way of example only and that variations and changes thereto are possible without departing from the subject matter coming within the scope of the following claims, and a reasonable equivalency thereof, which claims I regard as my invention.

All of the material in this patent document is subject to copyright protection under the copyright laws of the United States and other countries. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in official governmental records but, otherwise, all other copyright rights whatsoever are reserved. 

1. A curtain, consisting of: a top panel, a bottom panel, and a perforated joining strip, where the top panel comprises an elongated band with a plurality of holes, where the plurality of holes have a hole diameter, where the hole diameter is larger than a prong diameter of a prong that is used to suspend the curtain, where the bottom panel comprises a plurality of sheets, where each of the plurality of sheets is an identical size, where each of the plurality of sheets has a tab, where the plurality of sheets forms multiple layers of sheets, where the perforated joining strip attaches the top panel to the bottom panel, where the perforated joining strip comprises a heat-sealed band of an upper portion of the bottom panel, and where the perforated joining strip additionally comprises a series of perforations, such that when an outer sheet becomes dirty, a user can grab the tab and tear the outer sheet off the bottom panel, thereby exposing a second sheet.
 2. The curtain of claim 1, where the plurality of sheets are waterproof shower sheets.
 3. The curtain of claim 1, where the plurality of sheets are hospital room dividers.
 4. A curtain, comprising: a top panel, a bottom panel, and a perforated joining strip, where the top panel comprises an elongated band with a plurality of holes, where the bottom panel comprises a plurality of sheets, where the plurality of sheets forms multiple layers of sheets, where the perforated joining strip attaches the top panel to the bottom panel, where the perforated joining strip comprises a series of perforations, such that when an outer sheet becomes dirty, a user can grab the tab and tear the outer sheet off the bottom panel, thereby exposing a second sheet.
 5. The curtain of claim 4, where the plurality of holes has a hole diameter, where the hole diameter is larger than a prong diameter of a prong that is used to suspend the curtain.
 6. The curtain of claim 5, where each of the plurality of sheets is an identical size, where each of the plurality of sheets has a tab.
 7. The curtain of claim 6, where the perforated joining strip comprises a heat-sealed band of an upper portion of the bottom panel.
 8. The curtain of claim 7, where the plurality of sheets are waterproof shower sheets.
 9. The curtain of claim 7, where the plurality of sheets are hospital room dividers.
 10. A curtain, comprising: a top panel, a bottom panel, and a perforated joining strip, where the bottom panel comprises a plurality of sheets, where the plurality of sheets forms multiple layers of sheets, where the perforated joining strip attaches the top panel to the bottom panel, where the perforated joining strip comprises a series of perforations, such that when an outer sheet becomes dirty, a user can grab the tab and tear the outer sheet off the bottom panel, thereby exposing a second sheet.
 11. The curtain of claim 10, where the top panel comprises an elongated band with a plurality of holes.
 12. The curtain of claim 11, where the plurality of holes have a hole diameter, where the hole diameter is larger than a prong diameter of a prong that is used to suspend the curtain, and, where each of the plurality of sheets is an identical size, where each of the plurality of sheets has a tab.
 13. The curtain of claim 12, where the plurality of sheets are waterproof shower sheets.
 14. The curtain of claim 11, where each of the plurality of sheets is an identical size, where each of the plurality of sheets has a tab and where the perforated joining strip comprises a heat-sealed band of an upper portion of the bottom panel.
 15. The curtain of claim 14, where the plurality of sheets are waterproof shower sheets.
 16. The curtain of claim 11, where the plurality of holes have a hole diameter, where the hole diameter is larger than a prong diameter of a prong that is used to suspend the curtain, and, where the perforated joining strip comprises a heat-sealed band of an upper portion of the bottom panel.
 17. The curtain of claim 16, where the plurality of sheets are waterproof shower sheets.
 18. The curtain of claim 16, where the plurality of sheets are hospital room dividers.
 19. The curtain of claim 16, where the plurality of sheets are plastic waterproof shower sheets.
 20. The curtain of claim 17, where the plurality of sheets are waterproof shower sheets comprise at least five sheets. 